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Saturday, June 1, 2013

Out With The Old (Boys Club), In With The New (Generation of Progressive Genre Fans)

Hot
on the heels of the SFWA
Bulletincontroversy
starring Mike Resnick and Barry Malzberg comes another chapter in the battle
for equality and respect in fandom.

Stuart
Sharp (via The Story Hub) was Talking Sci-Fi romance
(note how the "r" in "romance" isn't capitalized).
Initially, he lays out what he believes to be the difference in structure
between SF and romance. Then he goes on to question the scope of competence of
authors who write sci-fi romance (particularly those stories that adhere to the
conventions of genre romance):

Then
there's a question of understanding the field. Sci-fi is reasonably well
defined by this point. Most people who write in this genre understand know what
it is about…it's a big soup of cultural references that we all get, right?...

…Except
that the new authors coming into the field don't necessarily get them. Their
references are all to do with the Formula, grand gestures, love triangles, the
tropes of romance or chick lit or YA. They don't understand the reasoning
behind some of the arguments that have been bubbling for years. They certainly
don't get that Do Androids Dream of
Electric Sheep Reference you made in chapter three.

What
Mr. Sharp is trying to say, authors of SFR, is that Ur Doin' It Wruong. You
think you're being "stunningly original" when in fact "an idea
has been given a pretty thorough going over by the sci-fi world already."

What’s
that you say? I wouldn’t understand? I am not sure if this is meant I would not
understand because I am a writer who likes a bit of love and romance along side
my spaceships and interstellar cultures, or if it was an attack against female
writers in general, because let’s face it – we have all heard that
tired argument that women can’t tell the difference between a warp core and a
deflector array. Well, I will see your Dick (Phillip of course) reference and
raise you a Ballard.

Go ahead and read the entirety of both posts.
I'll wait.

All
done? Great.

So
here's my thought: Mr. Sharp's post is a marvelous thing because it means change is happening! Those who fear
hybrid genres--especially ones that mix SF and Romance--are aware of them like
never before. They recognize SFR is a force to be reckoned with.

Of
course, they're welcome to criticize it or express dislike for it, but that
doesn't mean the rest of fandom is going to agree. You see, that's the beauty
of change! (Why hello there, 2013!)

Also,
how great that Mr. Sharp prominently displayed a number of SFR covers! Here are
the titles featured in his post:

TOUCHED
BY AN ALIEN - Gini Koch

RAGNAR
AND JULIET - Lucy Woodhull

BEYOND
THE NIGHT - Joss Ware

THE
TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE - Audrey Niffenegger

GRIMSPACE
- Ann Aguirre

SKIES
OF FIRE - Zoe Archer

"Talking
Sci-Fi romance"--oh yes we are indeed! I love any excuse to share my interest in this subgenre. Mr. Sharp, thank you for continuing
the conversation about SFR, because even in 2013 it's a conversation we still
need to have, and frequently.

And
while these women or people of color are smiling at you they’re actively
writing their own stories, and growing
their own audiences, and hoping for the day when everybody finally stands
up and says, “You know, actually, disrespecting half your colleagues and
reducing them to a pair of tits or collection of bigoted stereotypes isn’t OK.”
[emphasis mine]

You
see, Mr. Sharp, "growing their own audiences" is precisely what happened with science fiction romance. It started
way back in the 60s with STAR TREK fan fiction and continues today with a whole
new batch of passionate, hardworking authors--all of whom, incidentally, are doing it right. Even if an
author wants to write an SFR despite not having read any science fiction, power
to him or her.

Fans
of SFR don't need anyone's approval to enjoy it or write it. We already formed
our own audience, our own club--a club everyone is welcome to join.

No
one's arguing SFR couldn't improve or that everyone should read it
(heck, one can say that about any genre). But science fiction romance is a
valid subgenre. You don't have to like it, but it's valid nevertheless.

In
conclusion, I'd like to ask for your help, dear passengers, in spreading the
word about Mr. Sharp's post and the responses to it. If you've read and enjoyed
any of the sci-fi romance titles he presented, please take a moment to tell a
friend.

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About Me

Heather’s debut sci-fi romance novel, Once Upon a Time in Space, features the last living descendant of Christopher Columbus on a desperate quest to find a new world. Standing in his way is Raquel, the deadliest space pirate in the galaxy.